Social factors and health: the mediating and moderating roles of communication inequality.

Although the role of social factors (socioeconomic status, socioecological contexts and social networks) in bringing about individual and group differences in health status has been well documented, our understanding of the communication-related mechanisms through which such factors exert influences is relatively incomplete. This research project aims to respond to this paucity of empirical evidence. The project builds on the researchers doctoral study on the role of communication inequality in bringing about disparities in HIV/AIDS-related cognitive and affective outcomes between population groups, and extends the assessment of the role of communication inequality further at the level of behavioral outcomes. Additionally, the project utilizes large representative datasets such as the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) of multiple countries as well as nationally collected datasets such as the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) to examine the role of communication inequality on a wider scale and with regard to different health issues such as cancer, maternal and child health, and tobacco use.

Keywords:Cancer, Tbacco use, Maternal and child health

Disciplines:Communication sciences, Journalism and professional writing, Media studies, Other media and communications